My Truncated Sphere Dices arrived (and quite fast)!
For those who don't know what they are, you will find more informations in this post.

I ordered them in Dyed Strong and Flexible and exceptionnally did some post-production on them: I highlighted the numbers with some pencil I used for Christmas cards (white, silver and gold) and added some acrylic gloss varnish.
In my opinion, the results are quite good (well, perhaps I should have waited a little more for the different coats to dry, but I am a always in a hurry...), and this is something I will do again for sure on my next models.

I have also been pleased with the rapidity of my items' arrival time recently.

Are you going to test the fairness of the unusually-shaped dice? If the first d10 lands on a face with no marking, how is the result calculated? I would guess that would occur more frequently than not, given the shape of the die.

Maybe I'm just thinking of those evil mathematical dice you posted around here a little while ago.

There is no evil trick on these ones: when the dice stops on a face with no number (facing down), there is always a number facing up: this is the result.
It is perhaps more obvious on the videos when the dice are on a flat surface.
So basically the numbers are not always on a face just because the shape of the die is unusual: sometime the landing face has not an opposite face but instead an opposite vertex or an opposite edge. As a consequence the numbers instead of being on faces are on those vertices or edges.

I will definitively test the fairness, because beside the faces that are with the same area, there is also a portion of the die (the rounded or the pointed surface) that is not really evenly distributed. I have to check if this has an impact.

I'm glad that you ordered different colours as white (although cheap) can be a bit tiresome.

The dice are looking great and I would think, highly collectable due to their unique shapes. I quite like the idea of a die with some blank faces as it looks like it won't work properly (but it will work... wonderfully!).

Have you managed to get the rounded D10 (with 5-fold symmetry) to land on the rounded part when actually rolling the die?

Nice demonstrations by the way. I have a birthday in March so hope to put an order in then.

No problem Orangery, i am very patient .
And to answer your question:
- the D10 with 4-fold symmetry is clearly unstable if you put it on the round part, so it will never stop on an unvalid position.
- the D10 with 5-fold symmetry can keep its balance on the round area but it is very difficult to obtain, so if you roll it, it will never stop on the round face either.
- for the D10 with 3-fold symmetry, it is easier for it to keep its balance on a rounded area because the numbers are carved there (and so the rounded area is not perfectly round). But once again, when I roll it, it has never stopped in such a position.
So to conclude, when you actually roll them, they do not stop on the rounded part (or, at least, I never managed to do so )

Some new Truncated Spheres Dice arrived.
The D4 is very interesting since it is easier to read the result than traditional D4 since the number are written on the vertices. Furthermore, its rounded shape make it roll better than a tetrahedron.

D17... where did that come from?! You have officially been crowned KING of these dice, . I like viewing them in 3D (in your shop) as I can understand the shapes better. You seem to know your maths very well (it's way beyond me).

Ahaha! Thanks Dave.
D17, strangely, is the natural continuation after D11 and D14:
- 11=1+3+3+3+1
- 14=1+4+4+4+1
- 17=1+5+5+5+1
So basically, there is one face at each one of the 2 poles of the sphere and as many faces at the two tropics and at the equator.
Then, indeed, there is some mathematic calculation...

I had a quick look to the page you mentionned and even the D9 has a very special role (that I do not understand, honestly).
But I will try create some webpages to explain some details about those polyhedra...

@Orangery: Thanks. Personally i like them all . I did not try to approach a dice manufacturer, and I don't know how to do so. But this could be a good idea. I guess those shapes are easy to mold and the price would be more affordable...

@Mctrivia: all the Truncated Sphere dice are hollow with a tunnel too small for the support material to escape (that why they are so heavy). The thickness is 1.5 mm and the number depth is 0.75 mm (so the thickness of the metal behind a number is also 0.75 mm) except the D33 Frosted Edition. Moreover, for the Truncated Sphere Dice set, each die is exactly 20 mm high, that why the D6 seems bigger than the D20 for instance.

Two new Truncated sphere Dice arrived in Alumide (well actually 3, but the third will have its own thread).
First, the D15 Sphere (all numbers on edges):
and then, the D18 Sphere (all numbers on the faces):

Alumide is a nice material for dice. Better than Strong and Flexible I would say, but I have still to try the polished one... I wish the Polished Strong and Flexible could come with the same colors as regular Strong and Flexible...

The metal dice you have seen are actually polished since the material is Antique Bronze Glossy.
The Polished material I was referring to is Polished White Strong and Flexible.
Concerning the number of dice, I will have to make a inventory of what I have done, and most of all, of what is still do be done...
And thanks for the link. Loki has his own shop here, with very interesting dice: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/loki3

I'm primarily interested in acquiring dice with numbers of sides that I don't already have. The gamescience D3, D5, & chessex D7 are beyond old news, so it was wonderful to find the Shapeways site a few weeks ago.

I placed an order for The Magic Shop D11 & D15 (along with a D60 from clsn). I tried alumide for the D11, frosted detail for the D15, and indigo s&f for the D60. They are all nice materials, but the alumide is wonderful. Picture below...

I gotta say that the D33 is very intriguing... it might be among the next ones I get.

Thank you for ordering those Truncated Sphere Dice. I agree with you, Alumide is great. Metal is even better but is much more expensive (and you can kill someone with a bag full of a dozen of metal dice ).

This kind of dice (spheres with identical circular flat faces) allows any number of faces, in theory.
But all my Truncated Sphere dices also have interesting symmetries, which are sometime difficult to find.
Another point is to have faces as large as possible (this implies that most of the faces are touching their neighbours).

The D33 was a special order from Kevin Cook. I designed it in a couple of days only. Perhaps I could try to redisign it, taking my time...

You're welcome! And thank *you* for designing them! I appreciate the interesting symmetries that the truncated spheres have... especially now that I can examine them with my own hands. And it's also very helpful to have the links for your different-sided dice all in a row there.

I would definitely like to get one made out of metal... I didn't want to get the pricier metal for my first order. I'll still get a few more in plastic, but I think I might put a metal die on my "xmas list" now Don't know whether to go with plain stainless steel or enhance it with bronze or gold, as long as I'm getting metal. Hmmmm...

Nice presents you got there
As usual, the metal dice are really gorgeous.
I am sorry for the D13 was not what you expected.

As Pfeiffer Stylez mentionned, this is probably due to the original model of the co-creator being without numbers: for some reason, the co-creation customization was not taken into account, and the initially uploaded model was printed. Please contact the customer service, explain them the problem and ask for a reprint.

@Pfeiffer Stylez the reason why it is a co-creator is precisely for the customer being able to choose the numbering: numbering on top (the default), numbering on the bottom face and no-numbering. And the uploaded model is the blank one (without number) instead of the default one (numbers on top) because it has a largest volume (and thus this is the one that sets the price of all three models).
But I am considering removing the co-creators on my dice, since everybody is ordering them with numbers on top... Initially, I though there would be more demand for no-numbers (for people that want to add their own numbers or symbols) and with numbers on the bottom face (for those not really comfortable with numbers positionned anywhere on the die). But this is not the case...

Once again, sorry for the inconveniance.

I hope you had a nice Christmas, and wish you all an excellent 2012 year.

Please contact the customer service, explain them the problem and ask for a reprint. I hope you had a nice Christmas, and wish you all an excellent 2012 year.

Ok! Will do! I shall ask for a reprint. I'm not upset at anyone... I just couldn't figure out why it was blank... it makes sense now. And in the meantime, since I do have a blank D13, I think I will take the opportunity to add my own symbols to it! Just gotta think of what there is exactly 13 of...

The 13 original United States colonies? That might be cool

And thanks, it was a great Christmas... looking forward to a great new year

Oh, and 1 more question for @Magic:
Is it possible to do the gold plated option with your dice? Or is it not an available option because the plating would wear off with continued handling/rolling?

The only reason why Gold Plating is not available is that, in my understanding, only objects that can be hanged to a wire can be gold plated. So you need a hole or something to grab them, like the dice from the "Shell" collection (D3, D4, D6, D8).

Please, someone correct me if I am wrong.

TD, feel free to post the result of your D13 once finished. I'd like to see it

PS: probably Shapeways will propose you a coupon: before re-ordering the D13, if you still want a numbered one, please wait for me to remove the co-creator (cannot do it right now: I am not at home and I need to upload the numbered model): this will avoid any other surprise...

Got my other D13... this one ended up being free after the coupon that Shapeways issued to me. I ordered this one in white strong & flexible since they were having a sale on that material... I put the extra few buck I saved toward the purchase of another print. Also pictured is my original D13. I decided to just add regular numbers to it... I used a red fine-tip Sharpie to draw thin numbers in my own handwriting. I decided that it didn't look so great (hard indeed to write well on a textured surface), so I thickened the numbers and then outlined them with a marigold fine-tip Sharpie so that they look like fiery numbers. I think it looks pretty nifty now.

Also, nice alumide dice, Magic! It's always odd how they look so bumpy in the pictures, but the actual dice are so smooth.

Oh, and about the gold plating... I see a few that don't look like they could be hung available in gold here:

Yes, it is not easy to write on curvy and porous surfaces. That's the beauty of digital manufacturing: adding the numbers on the 3D model with a modelling software, though not so easy either, gives very good results.
Happy that you got a new D13 from Shapeways.

Concerning Alumide, that's true that the way it catches the light make the material look very irregular, but when you got the object on your hands, you can see that the smoothness is nearly the one of Strong and Flexible material.

As long as Gold plating is concerned, I can make it available on any model, if you want to give it a try, just let me know by PM.

And thank you for showing many of my dice in the Show your collection thread!
I will probably show all of my dice, once I finish the ones that are still "work in progress"!

I am happy that the D18 printed sucessfully in glass, and that the details are correct.
If someone wants another truncated sphere die in glass, just let me know, and I will do a solid version of it.

In this picture you can see that the regular D33 is quite big compared to the other dice (30mm instead of 20).

Concerning the D33, this a new version with the proper numbering: the previous version had a fault in the numbering (in particuluar there were two numbers 19: shame on me). If you have bought such a faulty D33, please send me a PM and we will find an arrangement.

Thanks Orangery, you are very comprehensive
Faulty postage stamps can have a huge value: this faulty D33 can also get a very high value, but probably only after I'll become famous

Actually what is surprising is that nobody tolds me there was a problem until these last days, whereas I sold something like12 of them on a period of more than one year.

Now all the D33 of my shop are fixed but honestly, I am very embarrassed with this mistake for those who already bought one. That's why i will be more than happy to try to find an arrangement with them.